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Scapegoat
A boy. A quest. A terrible sacrifice. . .
Nine-year old Tiyo, the last member of the rainmaker clan in his village, has no memory of the great war, but he sees the aftermath in thirsty, drought-stricken land. Just as he saw it etched on the face of his mother, before her strength slipped away like water soaking into sand. When the drought worsens, the village chief tells Tiyo only one hope remains. A member of the rainmaker clan must fill a gourd from the sipapuni, the sacred pool where the world began, and beg Paloloqang, the water serpent to send rain. A dangerous quest in the best of times. And then Tiyo discovers the cost may be more than he can bear.
Originally published in Realms of Fantasy, Scapegoat tells a powerful coming of age story in a post-apocalyptic setting rich with insight into Hopi Indian culture and mythology.
“...Kroupa present Hopi lore so gracefully, with such simplicity, that the reader is drawn into the story and the lives of her characters without effort.” – Nancy Varian Berberick, Tangent, Winter 1996
Susan J. Kroupa has lived and taught on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, studied Hopi language and history. She has written freelance features for the Arizona Republic, High Country News, and American Forests on Hopi and environmental issues. In addition, she has taped interviews with Hopi elders recounting some of the history and traditions of the people. Her fiction has been praised for its lyrical description of Hopi culture and compelling characters.
Nine-year old Tiyo, the last member of the rainmaker clan in his village, has no memory of the great war, but he sees the aftermath in thirsty, drought-stricken land. Just as he saw it etched on the face of his mother, before her strength slipped away like water soaking into sand. When the drought worsens, the village chief tells Tiyo only one hope remains. A member of the rainmaker clan must fill a gourd from the sipapuni, the sacred pool where the world began, and beg Paloloqang, the water serpent to send rain. A dangerous quest in the best of times. And then Tiyo discovers the cost may be more than he can bear.
Originally published in Realms of Fantasy, Scapegoat tells a powerful coming of age story in a post-apocalyptic setting rich with insight into Hopi Indian culture and mythology.
“...Kroupa present Hopi lore so gracefully, with such simplicity, that the reader is drawn into the story and the lives of her characters without effort.” – Nancy Varian Berberick, Tangent, Winter 1996
Susan J. Kroupa has lived and taught on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, studied Hopi language and history. She has written freelance features for the Arizona Republic, High Country News, and American Forests on Hopi and environmental issues. In addition, she has taped interviews with Hopi elders recounting some of the history and traditions of the people. Her fiction has been praised for its lyrical description of Hopi culture and compelling characters.
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First published October 14, 2012
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About the author
Susan J. Kroupa
34 books50 followersBefore she let her writing go to the dogs, Susan J. Kroupa won awards for her fiction from such places as the Utah Arts Council Contest, Writers of the Future and the Deep South Writing Competition. Her stories have appeared in Realms of Fantasy and in a variety of anthologies, including Bruce Coville's Shapeshifters. Now, she is perhaps best known for her Doodlebugged Mysteries, a gentle cozy series featuring the irrepressible but obedience-impaired sniffer-dog, Doodle.
Susan lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwestern Virginia with her husband and a trouble-prone labradoodle whose superpower is bringing home dead possums. You can learn more about her on her webpage www.susankroupa.com or by subscribing to her newsletter (where you can sometimes get free stories and other cool stuff) at http://eepurl.com/3PUR1.
Susan lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwestern Virginia with her husband and a trouble-prone labradoodle whose superpower is bringing home dead possums. You can learn more about her on her webpage www.susankroupa.com or by subscribing to her newsletter (where you can sometimes get free stories and other cool stuff) at http://eepurl.com/3PUR1.
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November 2, 2012
Susan J Kroupa writes so beautifully that the words seem to flow across the page. In this story i was transported into a dry and barren world where a village's only hope of survival is a boy and a goat. The American Indian heritage gives this story a sense of realism I loved it.
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